Devils and Demons
by missbadgerface
Summary: After arguements with Reid and Noah, Luke has to face his demons and spirals into depression. Will anyone be able to help him?
1. Forgotten Demons

Luke stared at the unopened vodka bottle on the table in front of him and wondered how it'd ever got back to this. He thought he'd got past this demon.

"_I just can't be with you when I know that the whole time the guy who you really want is Noah. I'm not going to get my heart broken, not again, Luke."_

Reid's words were playing through his brain like a stuck record, grating and grating at Luke's conscience. He wanted Reid. He needed Reid. Just after that fight he went to Noah to tell him everything. He needed to prove just how much he wanted Reid.

_"You clearly never loved me, hell; you couldn't even wait a month until you had your tongue stuck down some other guy's throat. What was it this time Luke? Did you just throw yourself at the first guy who gave you the slightest bit of attention again?"_

Noah's words pierced his heart like a million frozen daggers. He had loved Noah. He still did love Noah, but he couldn't be with him. He'd pushed him away over and over again. He'd hurt Luke too many times and it was all piling up on him now. Maybe he was right. Maybe Luke had just thrown himself at Reid. These thoughts were what stopped him from going to see Reid after coming clean to Noah. What would someone like Reid want with someone like him anyway? Reid was smart, handsome and altogether amazing. Luke was just some university dropout living off his parent's money. He'd managed to get Reid and now he'd thrown it away. He was certain that he loved Reid. He knew that he wanted him, but now everything just seemed so messed up. He'd somehow managed to hurt Noah and Reid. His head started to hurt from all the thinking. He needed something to numb the pain, and the only thing that he knew that could was the devil that was staring at him in the form of a vodka bottle. Suddenly Luke's cell started beeping relentlessly and the caller ID told him that it was Reid. As far as Luke knew, talking to him would only cause him self even more pain. It frustrated him that Reid had such a control of him. With all the force he could gather he threw the phone angrily against the wall silencing its beeping, smashing it to pieces and as Luke unscrewed the cap and gulped down the burning liquid, his heart shattered along with it.

**3 hours later**

Reid got Luke's answer phone for what felt like the millionth time that day. He'd bumped into Noah earlier and he'd said something about how he was welcome to Luke and how he hoped they'd be very happy together (sarcastically of course.) He'd been trying to get hold of Luke ever since. To tell him that he was sorry, that he should have understood the situation better. He'd seen what Noah was like now, how hurt he was, and he knew Luke still cared about Noah so seeing that amount of pain in his eyes must've killed Luke inside. He wondered what sort of things Noah might have said to him. He knew Luke was sensitive so he was more than likely in a state now. He finally got off work and the first thing he did was get in his car and head towards Luke's parent's house, which he knew Luke was looking after while the rest of his family were on holiday.

Once he got there he knocked on the door, gently at fist.

"Luke, I know you're in here, your car's outside, please, just open the door baby," he called from outside the door.

When there was no reply, Reid knocked a little harder, then tried the door handle. It was locked.

"Luke, if you don't open this door right now, I'm going to knock it down. I'm sure your parents have the funds to replace it!" Reid yelled after several more minutes of banging forcefully on the door, beginning to feel concerned. When he didn't get a reply, true to his word, he kicked at the door until it burst through.

He couldn't suppress the scream rising from deep within his lungs.

On the coffee table there was an empty vodka bottle. On the floor was an unconscious Luke, with an empty bottle of pills in one hand.


	2. Holding On

Reid let out another strangled scream before running towards the lifeless body of the man he loved. He felt for a pulse and let out a sigh of relief when he found one. Although it was only faint, it was definitely there. Luke was still with him, at least for now. He quickly grabbed his cell and dialled 911.

"I need the paramedics please…It's my boyfriend, he's swallowed a load of pills…No I don't know when, I just found him, for God's sake. You think I was here when it happened?...You don't know? What are you stupid? You don't think I would have stopped him if I'd have been here?…Yes, he has a pulse but it's really faint. I need you to be quick please, if your small brain can manage that"

He gave the address then all he could do was wait and pray. He tried to force himself into doctor mode but he just couldn't do it, it was too hard. He was sure the thoughts running round his head would be the thing to kill him. _What if I'd of got off work early to come and find him sooner? What if I hadn't pressured him to tell Noah so soon? What if I'd never come to Oakdale?_

Reid often thought about this. If he hadn't have come to Oakdale he would never have been so affected by the man with golden hair and hazel eyes. He wouldn't have got himself involved in such a complicated mess. He wouldn't have fallen in love. But somehow Reid knew that if he hadn't have come to Oakdale, him and Luke would have been pulled together somehow. He grasped tightly on to the hand of his lover and brushed his thumb over his wrist, feeling the pulse gradually slow down, knowing that if the paramedics didn't arrive soon then it would be too late for both of them. Against the best of his abilities a tear gently escaped his eye as he clung with desperation to Luke's hand.

"How could you do this Luke? Why? I need you." Reid sobbed freely now, the tears stinging his cheeks as shakily used his spare hand to brush the hair from Luke's face. He looked like he was sleeping. He looked beautiful. "Please, just hold on a little longer baby, don't let go just yet. I love you. I'm sorry I never told you. I love you so much" 

Reid kept his tight grip on Luke's hand, letting his tears roll down his cheeks. He hadn't cried in what felt like centuries, and now he knew why. The pain in his stomach was unbearable and he wanted nothing more than to rip his heart out and make the pain go away. He wished he was a psychologist. He wished he could understand why Luke had done what he did but he couldn't. He just needed Luke to keep fighting but he didn't know if he could. He tried to go to the same safe place he had when him and Luke were trapped in the elevator but the brain was turning into his worse enemy. The brain had done this to Luke. The brain had caused Luke so much pain. Reid hated the brain more than anything else in that moment because he knew that now, his only safe place was with Luke, and the brain may have taken that safe place away from him. Reid squeezed even tighter on Luke's hand, hoping to find some comfort.

At that point the paramedics burst in and took Luke away to the ambulance. Reid tried to understand what they were saying-they spoke his language after all- but he couldn't. His mind was empty of all other thoughts except Luke, and how the hell he was going to carry on if he didn't make it through this.

He stepped into the ambulance with Luke and grasped his hand again. He now knew what Luke was talking about all the time when they were building the new wing at the hospital. Every time Luke told him how truly awful it felt to have a loved with their life in danger he'd shrugged it off, but now he knew what it was like to feel truly helpless for once, and he couldn't stand it. All he wanted was to wake up from this awful nightmare, to feel Luke's arms wrapped round him in a sweet embrace. But that couldn't happen, so instead, he just clung onto Luke's hand, lasing their fingers together, hoping somehow he would feel it and know how much Reid loved him.

**So, what do you guys think? Should I carry on?**


	3. Someone to blame

Reid sat in the waiting room with his head in his hands. He had been in the same position for 2 hours, ever since he'd arrived at the hospital. It was relatively quiet in Memorial that night, but that was not what Reid wanted. For once in his life Reid wanted noise, children laughing, interns being generally annoying, anything to take his mind off what was going on behind those doors. All of the sudden he heard the doors to the corridor being burst open and an extremely terrified Lily walked in. Reid lifted his head for the first time in 2 hours and looked up into the eyes of his boyfriends mum. She and Katie were the only people who knew about his and Luke's relationship, and though it took some time for her to get used to it, she was now glad that her son was happy, even if it wasn't with Noah. Reid was expecting Lily to yell at him, scream at him, to make him feel guilty, like this was entirely his fault but instead she took him into her arms and gently stroked his hair as if she were comforting a baby. Reid couldn't fight the tears from falling again.

Somehow on the trip to the hospital he'd managed to tell someone to call the Snyders, who were still on vacation. They'd got straight on a private jet back to Oakdale and had only just arrived.

"It's going to be okay baby, he's going to be okay" Lily said, but her voice was shaky and she couldn't hide the fact that she wasn't so sure about what she was saying.

"It's all my fault, I broke up with him so he could be with Noah and then today he must have told Noah about us because he came up to me and told me that I was welcome to him and I tried to get hold of Luke but he wasn't answering. I thought he was just having another one of his strops but when I got to the house he wouldn't answer the door so I kicked it down and…it was awful…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" Reid sobs were soaking through Lily's t shirt but she didn't seem to care. She lifted Reid's face up to look at her and gave him a stern look.

"Don't even think about blaming yourself! Not for a second! You only did what you thought was right, what you thought would make my son happy. You made a mistake. You just didn't realise that _you _were what he wanted, not Noah. So don't you dare blame yourself, because you made my son happier than he's been in a long time!"

After a couple more minutes of holding on to Lily like his life depended on it Reid notice Holden walking in carrying three coffees. He handed one to Lily and one to Reid.

"Lily told me everything about you and Luke. You should know that, even though it's a shock, I accept it because Lily told me you make each other happy. Well, at least…How did this happen?" Holden said, sitting in the same position that Reid had been sat in. His confusion and fear showed in his face and in his voice.

"I wish I knew," Reid replied "I really wish I knew."

"You said he spoke to Noah, about the two of you. Do you think he could have said anything to trigger all this? I know he's very sensitive when it comes to Noah. Does anyone know how he reacted when Luke told him?" Lily asked, desperately trying to think of a reason why things could've gotten so bad.

Reid thought about what Lily had said. It made sense. Noah had seemed angry when he spoke to Reid, and this had happened the same day that Luke had told him.

His thoughts were interrupted when Bob Hughes emerged from Luke's hospital room with an unreadable look on his face. Reid always used that look; he wondered if this is how all the families of his patients felt when he used that look. He hated it. He wished that his face showed some indication of how Luke was, something to prepare him.

"How is he?" Reid breathed nervously.

"He's stable for now" Bob nodded "But we got to him quite late, maybe too late. The chances are he won't make it through the night. I hate to say this to you, but I think it's best if you prepare for the worst"

Reid just stood in his spot unable to move, he didn't even notice the sounds of Lily's yelling and screaming or Holden's pacing. He felt sick to his stomach. A part of him knew that it could end like this. He hated himself for letting his hope overtake his common sense. If he hadn't of hoped then maybe this wouldn't hurt so much. A part of him wished that Luke had of died tonight because now he had to keep hoping for tomorrow. If he was going to lose Luke then he'd rather lose him now then have to wait endless hours to find out if it was all over so soon. He thought now that there was surely a God who hated him and thrived on seeing him having his heart torn out of its place. When he finally regained the ability to move he slowly slid his back down the wall and sat on the floor, bringing his knees to his chest, protecting himself from his own vulnerability.

**The Next Morning**

Noah walked into the canteen at Oakdale Memorial. He had an appointment to check up on his eyesight in half an hour, and of course he'd changed doctors. Simply the thought of seeing Reid again made his stomach fill with an anger that burned painfully at his insides. Right on cue, the man in question walked into the canteen and headed towards the counter. Noah didn't notice the bags under his eyes or the lack of cockiness in his walk. He just saw the man who'd stolen the man he loved more than his own life. Noah stood up with the intention of getting away from the Doctor who'd stolen Luke's heart, but before he could he saw Doctor Oliver giving him a look filled with hatred and the next thing he knew he was being pushed up against the nearest wall feeling the wind being knocked out of him.

"What the hell did you say to him you selfish bastard" Reid hissed. The tone of his voice had changed. Noah didn't here the usual sarcasm or irritation in it; instead he heard pure anger and hatred.

"I suggest that you let go of me right now Reid" Noah replied in a calm voice, hoping his face wasn't betraying his fear. He'd never seen the doctor like this before.

"Not a chance, now what the hell…."

"Reid! Let him go! That isn't going to solve anything" Holden ran in, pulling Reid back, shooting Noah a look that he hadn't seen the man use before. It was a mixture of anger, confusion and grief.

"I need to know why he did this!" Reid yelled, trying to push his way back to Noah but he was still being refrained by Holden. Eventually he gave up and began sobbing once again, wondering how the hell he wasn't out of tears yet. "I need to know what he said to him" he said in almost a whisper. All the strength seemed to drain from him as he fell back into the nearest chair.

"What the hell is going on?" Noah said quietly, trying to get his head round the situation. Why was Holden here? Why was Reid sobbing like a baby? Something wasn't right.

"You want to know what's going on! The man I love is in critical condition after trying to top himself, which suspiciously happened just after his little conversation with you! They're telling us to prepare for the worst! What did you say to him? Did you give him a little rant about how perfect you are and how he didn't live up to your expectations? What was it, huh? Blaming him for wanting to be happy? Guess what Noah, the reason why he needed to find happiness was because you couldn't give it to him! You hurt him over and over again! You hurt him so many times it's a fucking wonder he hasn't tried this already!" Reid screamed at the top of his voice, regaining his previous strength from nowhere "What the hell did you say to him?"

Noah felt like all the air had been knocked out of him and he was struggling to breathe. Everything around him seemed to go in slow motion as he shoved past Reid and out into the parking lot. Once out of the hospital, he just kept running and running. He wasn't sure where he was running to, but he needed to get away; he needed to escape this nightmare. 


	4. Escaping Reality

Reid hadn't left Luke's side since his encounter with Noah in the canteen. Now he slept, his hands linked with Luke's and his head resting on the bed next to him. They'd tried to make him go home, to tell him that it wasn't healthy spending so long cooped up in a hospital room. But he refused to leave. He wouldn't leave Luke alone, not again. So he'd stayed. He had neck cramp from sleeping in uncomfortable chairs and he'd never gone so long without a sandwich, but he didn't care. He needed to be there for Luke. It had been 4 long days and Luke still hadn't woken up. Noah hadn't been to visit him yet, which angered Reid. Luke had spent all his time at Noah's side during the whole regaining sight ordeal, and Noah couldn't even spare Luke 2 minutes when he needed it the most. Normally Reid wasn't a light sleeper but today when he felt a gentle squeeze on his hand it instantly woke him from his half sleep. He looked up and the only hand on his was Luke's and he felt a huge sense of relief wash over him.

"Luke! Luke, can you here me? Squeeze my hand again if you can hear me." Reid begged. After 30 seconds, Luke hadn't done any thing to show Reid that he was there, and all the hope Reid had began to slowly wash away. He was beginning to get so angry at his brain for making him imagine things like this, for making him hope only to have it snatched away from him. Then he felt the squeeze again. Then he heard a cough. Then Luke's eyes were opening and my god, Reid had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

"Luke! Luke you're okay." Reid cried, tears falling down his face "I'm just going to get the nurse okay, everything's going…"

"Why am I here?" Luke asked quietly and tiredly, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Because, I found you after you'd…" Reid looked at Luke again, and he looked exhausted so Reid decided now wasn't the right time to explain everything to him, So he decided to avoid ending his sentence "...but none of that matters anymore Luke. You're going to okay, you're going to me okay" Reid smiled leaning in to kiss Luke's lips, but Luke suddenly jerked his head away.

"No! I shouldn't be here! I don't want to be here!" Luke yelled at the top of his voice, his face turning red with fury.

"I'm sure you'll be able to go home soon Luke…" Reid nodded, trying to calm Luke in some way.

"You just don't get it, do you? And I thought you were smart." Luke shook his head as a tear escaped his eye. He continued quietly "I don't want to be here, and I don't mean at the hospital. I thought I'd escaped it all. I thought I'd got away. I don't want to be here at all."

Reid felt everything in his life fall out of place again, just when everything seemed to make sense. He'd told himself over and over that Luke did what he did because of the alcohol in his system, because he wasn't thinking clearly. Now there was no escaping the truth.

"But Luke, you should be here. I need you here. I love you." Reid took Luke's hand and felt tears escape his eyes again. He looked into Luke's eyes and what he saw terrified him. The usual spark in them was gone, and all that was there was nothingness. Reid wished that there was something there, even hurt, pain or anger. His eyes were empty, dead and emotionless, and even after all his years of operating and losing patients, this was the most awful thing he had ever seen. "I love you too much to lose you."

"How?" Luke looked up at him "How can you love me?"

"Because you're perfect." Reid answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and to him it was.

"I'm as far away from perfect a person can get" Luke replied instantly, in an almost whisper. The emptiness in his eyes filled up with pure, raw pain which made Reid want the nothingness to come back, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't break eye contact. "I'm spoilt, ugly and everything I touch turns to poison. I've disappointed every one and I've hurt too many people." Then Luke began to repeat Noah's words back to Reid. They were still torturing his mind, eating away at his soul and he had no way of stopping them. "I'm a slut and I throw myself at anyone who gives me the slightest bit of attention. I don't know why but everything I do leads to someone being hurt and I can't do anything right. I'm worthless and useless and I don't know what to do anymore," Luke looked up at Reid with pleading eyes "Without me here everything would be so much better. I love you so much, so I can't hurt you. I just wanted to escape myself. I don't want to be me any more" 

Reid gulped and squeezed Luke's hand a little tighter. He'd dealt with the brain so many times but he'd ignored the fact that the brain could be a person's worst enemy. Yes, it could cause happiness, joy and love, but it could also destroy the person living with it. It hurt so much to know that Luke's brain was living off misery and depression when it was controlling such a beautiful person. It was feeding Luke's soul with lies and was forcing him to hate himself. Reid hated the brain, the one thing he'd once loved most in the world. It was trying to poison the most important thing in his life and he had to do everything in his power to stop it.

"None of that's true" Reid caressed Luke's cheek and forced himself to look into Luke's soul destroying gaze. "You are beautiful and you're smart and clever. You're not a slut; I don't even know how you could think that. You just want to be loved, and you are. The only person who doesn't love you is yourself. You haven't turned me to poison, you've done the opposite, you made me a better person. I'm less rude and I'm so much happier. I'm not going to lie to you Luke, being with you has been the most difficult thing I've ever done but I wouldn't change a second of it. You told Noah about us," Reid frowned at this, knowing how hard that must have been. "You are so brave, I don't even have words for it…And your heart…your heart is so good and pure, it's the most incredible thing I've ever come across. You, Luke Snyder, are the single most undisappointing, stunningly beautiful, kindest, most wonderful person I have ever met." Reid smiled, despite the tears that were burning his face like acid.

Luke smiled sadly up at Reid. "Then why don't I feel that way."

Reid pulled Luke into a tight hug. "I don't know and I hate whatever it is that's stopping you from seeing it." He pulled back slightly "Luke…what did Noah say to you?"

Luke felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart too many times to count when he remembered Noah's words.

"Why does it matter?" He gulped

"Because I think he hurt you, and if he did then I'll never forgive him" Reid said, lacing his fingers with Luke's.

"But I hurt him first, so I deserved it." Luke mumbled.

"You didn't hurt him intentionally," Reid yelled, feeling the anger burn like fire throughout his stomach. He was frustrated that Noah still had to make Luke feel like this after everything he'd gone through in the past "And think about it Luke! You only hurt him because he pushed you away over and over again! You were bound to move on; I'm just surprised you didn't do it sooner. So don't you dare tell me that anything he said to you was true, or that you deserve it, because it isn't and you don't! You don't deserve to be hurt at all, you deserve to be loved and I know that I can do that because I do, I love you so much it hurts! I've never felt this way about anyone before and it's killing me Luke."

"I don't deserve to be loved Reid." Luke smiled sadly once again, and then he gently reached out and slowly cupped Reid's cheek. "You deserve so much better. You're the best neurosurgeon in the world, damn it, and I'm just...I'm nothing." Luke gulped and lowered his hand from Reid's face. "I need to ask you something. Why didn't you leave me? Why did you save me?"

"How can you even ask that?" Reid asked quietly. His voice was wobbling and it sounded more like a choked sob than a sentence with real words, but Luke heard it all the same.

Luke looked thoughtful for a moment, as if he were deciding whether or not he should say what he wanted to. Reid nodded at him, as if to give him confirmation to continue, so he did, and what he said shattered both of their hearts.

"Because I can't help wishing you hadn't."


	5. Breaking at The Seams

Reid gulped down the lump rising in his throat. Maybe if he closed his eyes and ignored what Luke had just said it wouldn't be real. None of it would be real.

"I'll go get the nurse." Reid mumbled, breaking eye contact with Luke. He let go of the fragile boy's soft hand and started walking towards the door. "You should get some sleep. You need the energy for the recovery."

"I don't need the nurse Reid, I just…" Luke's voice was thick, and Reid was unsure whether it was because he was so tired or if it was because of all the crying he'd been doing since he'd finally woken up. "Stay. Please."

Reid turned and the look he saw in Luke's eyes made it feel like vines were constricting around his throat. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak. All he wanted to do was take the pain away but it was impossible. Instead he rushed over to Luke and as he sat on the edge of the bed he wrapped his arms around him. Luke quickly responded, clutching to the back of Reid's shirt as if letting go would mean the end of life as he knew it and he'd be surrounded by black, dark clouds for eternity. Maybe if they held each other for long enough they wouldn't have to face the reality of the situation. Maybe it would just be them, and that would be all that mattered. Reid could feel Luke's tears pierce through the soft fabric of his shirt like bullets, every separate one killing him a little more, but he knew he was crying just as much, if not more than Luke. He also knew that it'd be impossible to stop.

"I just want it to go away. I want to make it go away. I need to make you see how wonderful you are but I don't know how to. It hurts. It hurts that if I can't help you, it'll all be my fault. I don't want to be the one to break you even more Luke." Reid whispered into Luke's ears in between jagged breaths. He knew it was selfish of him to unload all of this on Luke when he was so weak, but for the first time in his life, he felt the uncontrollable need to talk. "I'm terrified."

"I know. Me too. I'm so scared that you'll go and I'll be on my own again. Please don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere." Reid loosened his grip a little then pulled back. He pressed soft kisses all over Luke's face, trying to take the bad away. He'd do anything to take Luke's place in the situation just so Luke could be free, instead of being constricted by his own self torture. When he found Luke's lips with his he ran his hand through Luke's feather-like hair. Luke leaned into the kiss, into Reid, his hands still grasping desperately at the back of his shirt. Everything else melted away and it was just the two of them. Reid had never experienced anything as intense in his entire life, and he never wanted it to go away. He knew that Luke could make his world come tumbling down with just a click of his fingers, and the fact that someone else had such control over his entire being terrified him. The logical side of his brain screamed at him to run away, to get out before it was too late, but his soul and his heart begged him to stay, to never let Luke go, but in the end he had to. The door to the room was opened slowly and Reid turned his head toward the door sighing, but the fury soon built up inside the pit of his stomach when he saw who was stood there.

"I'm sorry, I probably should've knocked." Noah gulped, avoiding eye contact with both of the men. "When did you…"

Reid felt Luke's hand tighten round his own, and he knew that he was scared. He knew that whatever Noah had said to him had made him feel this way.

"He woke up about an hour ago." Reid interrupted "He should probably get some more rest." He turned his gaze back to Luke. "I'm going to get the nurse now, okay? They need to know you've woken up so they can check on you."

"Don't go, please." Luke's eyes filled with black, intense fear. He was scared that if Reid left then he'd change his mind and he would never come back.

"I promise I won't be long. No more than 2 minutes, I swear."

Noah watched as Reid gently kissed Luke's cheek. It was torture to see Luke so dependent on a man who wasn't him, but it crushed him even more to see the fear in Luke's eyes when they had met his own. He was angry when he'd yelled at Luke. He'd never meant for this to happen. He'd never meant for Luke to break, because when he saw Luke fall apart his heart shattered to a million fragments. He was sure that after this no amount of love could but it back together again. All three men in the situation were in pieces.

"I should go," Noah murmured. "But I'll be back tomorrow."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Reid sneered, "Get the hell out."

Noah nodded, looking rather defeated. Reid was too pre occupied with his own thoughts to realise that the younger man looked like he hadn't eaten or slept for days. He turned back to Luke.

"I won't be long; 2 minutes tops." He said before quickly turning to leave, with every intention of coming back to Luke's side.

* * *

Reid had promised he'd be 2 minutes tops, so when Luke looked up at the clock and saw that 15 minutes had passed, he panicked. He knew Reid wouldn't stick around. He was just like every one else in his life. Everyone seemed to leave eventually. Damien. Noah. Everyone. He'd trusted Reid to be different. When he'd seen Reid crying and felt him holding him, he'd trusted him to help him, and he'd wanted to get better for Reid. If he didn't come back, then there'd truly be no point living, and Luke knew he would try again and again to finish him self until he succeeded.

Luke stared at the clock and focused on its soft, quiet ticking noise-which in his head was deafeningly loud, bursting his eardrums at the seams.

30 minutes passed, then 40 and before Luke knew it he'd been clock watching for and hour.

Reid didn't come back.

No one did.

Luke was on his own again.

* * *

**Gahh, sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up :( I've had gcse's, but i had my last one yesterday so I should have more free time on my hands now :)**


	6. Fragile

Reid's eyes slowly flickered open and flashed around almost desperately before he finally realised where he was and what had happened. He attempted to sit up but it proved to be unsuccessful due to the sharp pain he felt in his head.

Damn it.

He knew he shouldn't have chased after Noah, but he had to make sure that he didn't come back to see Luke again. He couldn't let him hurt Luke. He had to protect him. For his attempts he received a punch to the gut-which had caused him to fall to the ground-followed by a hard kick to the side of the head. That was when he'd blacked out. Luke wasn't kidding when he'd said he liked them tough. The event had taken place behind a large wall outside memorial, so of course Reid hadn't been found.

Then he remembered his promise to Luke.

Shit was the first word that came to mind.

He looked at his watch and realised he'd left Luke on his own for 1 hour at the least, so he quickly jumped up, ignoring the agonising pain that coursed through his whole body. It wasn't important. Nothing else was important.

It only took him only 5 minutes to run to Luke's room, and he received a few funny looks from various nurses, and he gathered it was due to a bruise that Noah had probably left on his face.

When he arrived at Luke's room and swung the door open he wasn't certain of what he'd see. He'd half hoped Luke would be asleep and not noticed his absence but instead he was sat on the floor, his back against the bed and his knee's pulled up against his chest whilst staring without focus at the wall in front of him. To say he looked vulnerable would be an understatement.

"Luke?" Reid asked softly, taking a few tentative steps towards the boy.

"Where were you?" He still hadn't moved his gaze away from the wall. His voice wasn't accusing or angry, it was hurt and small. It broke Reid's heart.

"I went after Noah." Reid took the final steps and sat down next to Luke on the floor, taking his hand in his. This finally had Luke's attention, and he looked towards Reid, his eyes widening at what he saw.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Luke whispered slowly running his finger tips over the bruise starting to appear on Reid's cheek bone, and over the rest of the left side of his face.

"That doesn't matter." Reid shook his head. "We should get you back into the bed. Has a nurse been to check on you yet?"

"No." Luke brushed off Reid's question as if it was unimportant and unnecessary. "Have you seen someone about your face? You could've cracked a cheek bone or something."

His feather-like fingers carried on grazing across the darkening bruise, gentle and loving and Reid felt like he was going to burst. This was so like Luke. He didn't give a damn about himself; he was more bothered about Reid, even though he was the one who'd been lying in a hospital bed for the past week.

"I'm a doctor Luke. It's fine, trust me." Reid lightly grasped Luke's hand and kissed gently at the finger tips. "I'm sorry I didn't come back soon enough."

"Well, better late than never." Luke leaned his head against Reid's shoulder sighing. "I want to get out of here."

"You've only been awake for a few hours and you're bored already?" Reid chuckled. Luke was always a busy-body, even in the worse situations.

"No. It's more that I hate hospitals. It feels like I've spent half my life in them, either for myself and my kidney or any of the other shit that goes down in my life, or I'm visiting someone else who's been shot or gone blind. I'm starting to think you're right. Oakdale is cursed." Luke chuckled genuinely for the first time since he woke up and tightened his grip on Reid's hand. "I don't want to spend anymore time in hospitals. I just hate them."

"I think they'll want you to talk to someone before they let you out, you know." Reid tilted his own head slightly and kissed the top of Luke's head. He knew this conversation was going to have to take place at some point, but he wished that it didn't. He wished he could wake up and it would've all been a nightmare.

"You mean...like a psychiatrist?" Luke mumbled. He was exhausted and desperately needed sleep, but he knew this was important.

"Yes, but we don't need to talk about it now. You need to get some sleep." Reid stood up, and pulled a sleepy Luke up with him, gently lowering onto the uncomfortable hospital bed.

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" Luke murmured against the pillow, but he was already in dream land before he got his answer.

Reid kissed Luke's cheek softly before pulling the chair up to the bed.

"I'm not going anywhere." He whispered, sitting down and pushing Luke's blonde hair out of his eyes. "Never again."


End file.
